Back

NER Ware’s the Quabbin 300K

The night before, I had taken the 6:30pm ferry from Orient Point to New London, and drove two hours up to the Concord area, landing at around 10pm. It had rained quite a bit, and I was monitoring the forecast closely. It started to look more promising, then again not so much, with the anticipated rainfall accumulation for the day expected to be somewhere between 0.75-1" total. I was trying to stay optimistic.

I was only able to sleep for around 4 hours with enough time to check out, grab a coffee and donut, and arrive at the start point just before 4:30 am. Around 13 other riders showed up, and then Jake spoke about the route, signed us in and sent us on our way promptly at 5am. It was a bit misty, but I was feeling relieved as it wasn't really raining as we all took off. That changed, and it continued to rain with varying intensity through the morning.

About 40 miles in, I was soaked head to toe. With the temperature somewhere in the 40's, the fingerless gloves and short bibs proved insufficient. I was starting to have some difficulty shifting as my hands were quite cold and numb. I had also tried using produce bags between two pairs of socks, but that made matters worse as water was just accumulating. It was also around this point when the other riders all started to split farther apart.

At around 42 miles in, there was a control at Tweedo's, which I completely spaced out on and flew right by, missing the stop by ~2 miles. Realizing this I decided to turn around, and after doing some extra climbing, finally met Bill the volunteer who said he saw me cruise by and was curious if I'd return. I refilled my water, had him sign my card and chatted for a few minutes. He helped me open a pack of foot warmers which I had brought along but couldn't manage to open due to cold wet hands, then I stuffed them in my shoes and kept moving.

The rain continued as I transitioned to a slightly more trafficked road. Eventually I wound up cruising behind another cyclist, Steve, on a lengthy climb who was on detour on another 100km gravel ride. We chatted a bit about where we lived, finding pleasure in riding in the rain and our favorite places to ride. That brief conversation was beneficial, thanks for the good vibes Steve.

Eventually made it to the Mimi's control, and touched base with Jake who informed me that Mimi's was closed due to running out of water as the pumping station in town had lost power in the storm. The coffee and breakfast sandwich that was top of mind for the prior 10 miles would have to wait, instead I wolfed down some pop tarts, refilled my water bottles and pressed on.

Those foot warmers never kicked in, likely rendered useless immediately from all the water trapped in my shoes.

The rain continued, and it took a moment to find the pleasure in riding again as I was starting to get really cold after idling at Mimi's for around 10 minutes, but eventually I was feeling motivated once again, especially as I hit the boundary for the Quabbin Reservoir. I had been out this way just once before, in April, three years ago to circumnavigate the reservoir, and was looking forward to being back.

At 88.1 miles in, there was a control at the Quabbin Enfield Overlook, and the rain seemed to have stopped so I was able to snap what turned out to be my first and last photos of the entire ride. Stepping up on the fence post and capturing as much of the reservoir and surrounding landscape as possible, pretty much emulating a photo I had taken the last time I was there.

At this point getting hungry and still hadn't grabbed that coffee I was hoping to grab back at Tweedo's, which I finally was able to remedy at the Dunkin' in Palmer. Here I was also able to finally shed my rain jacket and start the process of drying out my inner layers. There was a steady breeze and by the time I reached the next control I was almost completely dry aside from my soggy socks and shoes. There was a nice long drawn out climb before landing at the following control where the road was pretty chewed up and some trucks were flying by. Near the top was a friendly walker who had also just made the same climb and we had a friendly exchange.

At 119.4 miles in was the next control in Holland. Jake was there as well as another rider. There was a table of snacks, I had some pickles and a PBJ, chatted with Jake for a bit, and was finally able to take off my soaked socks and put a fresh pair of socks on. What a difference that made, really glad I had brought an extra pair. It was sunny, although pretty windy, but significantly more enjoyable moving forward. Pretty smooth sailing up to the next control, I had caught up with another rider, and tailed him for a bit, using him as a beacon as he was keeping a good pace so I just stayed put until we landed at the next control.

At around 150.2 miles in Rutland there was a control at a Gas Station, not sure if we were at the correct one, but we both stepped off our bikes and introduced ourselves. I refilled my water, grabbed some snacks, used the restroom and bought a pair of soft brown work gloves for $1.99 as my hands still didn't feel great. We both took off at the same time and I was feeling pretty energized, so I utilized the following few descents, pushing hard to make it up the subsequent climbs as quickly as possible. We were on a busier road for a bit before turning off and enjoying more backroads for much of the remainder of the ride. The last leg was really peaceful and mostly quiet, and with the sun shining bright I was feeling great. Was looking like I'd finish the ride with plenty of daylight remaining.

At the 187.3 mile mark, I arrived at the Residence Inn Concord, and found Jake, Emily and Jeff who had set up a table and had a bunch of snacks and cold beverages for us. As Jake signed my card, I sat down and had a cold soda and chilled out for around 15 minutes as I started to determine the best course of action for traveling back home.

All in all it was a great day of riding and I'd definitely consider revisiting the route again next year. In total I rode just under 192 miles and climbed over 12,000 feet on the ride, a bit further and higher because of initially missing Tweedo's and making some pit stops along the way. I had a great time and will likely sign up for it again.